Starting Blocks

BBU 15 has begun. The temps were in the 20s again. Sigh. At Plate City, Tyler was there, Vicki was there, Pee Wee was there, and so was I. I pressed a little more than I have been. On the bench, I did

  20 X 50

  10 X 72

  6 X 100

  5 X 140

  5 X 140

  5 X 140

  5 X 140

  5 X 140

  2 X 145

Vicki even got the bar up for two reps. We are going to make a bench presser out of her yet. Tyler is moving forward. We also did the log press, the seated dip, and we finished with 4:35 on the Skierg. 

On the road, I aimed to beat last week by a little. That is about all I did. Last week, I shuffled 2.25 on Monday. This week, I did 2.59. That is a little better. 

Tyler and I met at the pool. We started with 2,000 straight. His endurance has improved by leaps and bounds. He kept up with me the whole way. In fact, for a while he was dragging me along. After our long warmup, we did 4 X 50 @ WIFL then we shifted to our starting blocks. Simon made us some blocks so we practiced our starts some in anticipation of the State Games of Mississippi. I made five poor, but successful starts and swam a 25 with each. By successful, I mean my goggles did not come off. Tyler had a little trouble. I think he made two of the five successfully. We have to figure it out. We will. 

The total swim was 2,325 yards. That plus the other two workouts made for a pretty good day. Praise God.  

BBU 14

Once more, I chose the words: adequate, solid, decent, but not: great, super, or praiseworthy to describe Big Build Up number 14. Monday started as usual with the gym in the dark and in the cold. We worked hard and got it done. On the road, recovering from the half marathon, I only ran 2.25 miles. In the pool, Tyler and I swam 2,550 yards. So with the weights, roadwork, and swimming, I did enough to move me forward in quadrathon preparation.

Tuesday we lifted again. I ran again for 4.03 miles, and in the pool I hit 3,050 yards. Wednesday we lifted. I shuffled another four miles, this time 4.33. In the pool, I totaled 3,100.

Thursday was our sleep in day. I only ran 3.22 and was so lazy that I failed to go to the pool. I needed the rest, I told myself, but looking back, that excuse never seems adequate.

Friday we lifted. I did not do any pulling because I had a muscle in my back giving me a little grief. On the road, I fell off to 3.09 miles. In the pool, I continued my laziness by swimming 3,500. What? Laziness? Yes, it was a straight swim which is what I always do when I want to do anything. When I feel that way, if I stop, I stop so I just keep swimming. That way, at least I get some volume in, and there is value in that.

Saturday, I slept later than normal and finally dragged out of bed for a 5.06 mile run. I wasn't feeling it. I did not swim. I thought to not lift, but I repented and went outside just in time to see it snow, all three flakes. It was wonderous. I did squats and inventoried Plate City's Olympic plates. We have 2,409 pounds not counting maybe another ton of one-inchers. 

Sunday I always rest, but I did to the small shuffle of 2.09 miles to keep the streak going. For the week, I

swam 11,149 meters,

cycled 8:00 on the stationary bicycle,

lifted weights five times,

ran 24.06 miles, and

Skiergged 22:30

So what needs to happen now is Tyler and I have to start getting into some kind of cycling shape. That is kind of difficult this time of year, but he just got his bicycle from the shop and is ready to go. Yeehaa. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.

Inventory

Saturday morning found me in bed, snoozing longer than usual. I did some school work then went out for a run. I did not feel well running. I have found that to be the norm after a steak the night before. I still think a steak is a healthy option, just not a good choice the night before any serious endurance work. As a result, I only shuffled 5.06 miles. I would have liked to do more, but I wasn't into it.

After that, I did some napping and some grading and some thinking. I was thinking of going to the pool, but I never made it. The naps were good, and I enjoyed the TV that I had missed for a few days.

Later in the afternoon, I decided to forego the gym. But then I changed my mind and did some squats. My legs are simply too weak to skip leg day. It snowed about three flakes, and I got a kick out of that. While I was out there, I did inventory of my Olympic plates. The gym is named Plate City for a reason. The final count was 2,409 pounds. Yeah, I have some plates. And that is not even all. I have most likely at least a ton of one-inch plates. The thing is, I rarely use them, the one-inchers, anymore. I plan to slowly turn them into dumbbells and such until they get down to a supply that I need.

Good Day, Good Training, Good Night

Friday wasn't a big day, but a good one nonetheless. We, Tyler, Vicki, Pee Wee, and me met at Plate City at 5:30 a.m. Although it was dark out there, the temp had risen to a relatively balmy 47 degrees. Woohoo! It felt great. Friday was supposed to be push and pull combined, but because of my right rhomboid, I did no pulling. On the pushing, we used the Swiss bar for the first time since Tyler has been at the City. He liked it, and it was good for Vicki because she can't press the Olympic bar, but the Swiss bar is lighter and she did some real sets of bench presses. We worked on her form, added weight, and made her actually work. Not that she hasn't been working, but it takes time to figure out exactly where someone is and now we have a better picture of her strength. 

I did do some curls, and we made Vicki do the curl machine also. In the past, she has been curling tiny dumbbells. We made her make those muscles cry. Then it was daylight by the time we got on the Skierg (third, fourth or fifth spelling?). In short, we had a good workout. 

After that, I went inside for breakfast, study, and waiting. The cable man was scheduled to come fix my cable box. I had been roughing it for a couple of days with no TV. That's tough. At least I still had YouTube and the Delray Misfits, the Mapogo lions, and other YouTube celeries. 

The cable guy actually showed up in a timely manner, did his job, and left me with a working TV. Sweet. I even had time after that to go for a run. I wasn't out long, but I got in 3.08 miles of roadwork, much of it out Hades Road, for workout number two.

I went to the pool early, around 2:15, for workout number three. There, I did a straight swim going 3,500 yards in 1:09:??. So I did three workouts, none of them huge but all of them adequate. Then I went home to get ready for Friday night. Penny and I always eat out on Fridays. This time we had plans to go to the Magnolia Smokehouse in Grenada with Tyler and his lovely, sweet wife, Madeline. When we got there, the place was at a standstill. Their electronic system was down which created problems with the kitchen as well as paying. No one could pay by debit card. What!?!?!? A quick check of my wallet revealed $50. Not enough. Ironically, I had thought about putting a Benjamin in there just in case. You can have plenty of money in your account, but if someone is trying to hack your card, the bank will shut your card off, leaving you looking foolish and deadbeat. But I failed to add the cash. Won't happen again.

To make a short story long, their system came back up, we got seated, ordered, and received our food. I got the 22 ounce steak because they didn't have a 24 ouncer. Tyler did the same. We ate those steaks like we were mad at them. It was good, yeah. The ladies, of course, pretended to eat. We left full and happy and had a nice ride home. At home, I ate candy, Reese's, for desert and tried to watch my freshly fixed TV, but was unable to due to sleepiness. Good day, good training, good night. Thank you, Jesus.

Taking It Easy

I really let things go Thursday. First, we sleep in on Thursday now and double up on Friday. We do this for two reasons. One is we need the rest, and the second is Tyler needs time to do a good run. Even he gets to sleep a little longer Thursday mornings.

Thursday is also my short day at school. So I have time for a long run in the afternoon. Somehow I managed to lazy away much of the day and finally dragged out for a short three-mile run. 

Swimming? You might have a hard time believing this, but I took the day off. Tyler was out, and Wednesday morning on the Skierg, I felt some pulling and discomfort in my right rhomboid muscle. At the pool later that day, I felt it even there. So I took the day off the heal up before something could develop into a real injury. Once I had a pulled pec that hindered my training for months. No thanks on that again.

So it was a short day in more ways than one but a good one nonetheless. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Longer Days and Warmer Temps

Wednesday morning the temp was 38 degrees in Plate City, a big improvement over 27 of the day before. We did light legs and deadlifting. Since Vicki missed Tuesday, she did both legs and some arm work. Pee Wee was happy to have everyone back. When I go out there, he wants big petting. Then he starts watching the gate. He wants his friends to show up so we can all play and have a good time. He plays with his toys while we lift, every now and then presenting himself to one of us for some attention.

I pulled 235 on the deadlift, which while not a PR, that is a good weight for me. This is laying the foundation for the really stupid stuff I have planned for the future, for 2023. Although the stupid stuff will be an endurance event, my body will need to be strong to hold up to the massive stupidity. Weak things break. Stupid stuff rules.

I was supposed to meet John at the pool. Instead of being late, which he is ten times out of nine, he was about an hour early and was finishing up when I got there. He will NOT show up at the time we agree upon. This is wearing a bit thin after nine and a half years. Because the pool was a little crowded, I did not do any hard swimming. I swam 2,500, 400, 200, all easy, for 3,100 yards. The easy swimming was OK because I felt a little pull on my right rhomboid muscle while doing the Ski Erg this morning. I also felt the muscle in the pool, and I don't want this to get worse and become an injury.

On the road, the weather was mild, but my legs were tired from the day before's 4.25 and the morning's squats and deadlifts. Still I shuffled along for 4.33 miles. The days are getting longer and it shows on both ends of the day. That is a good thing and is a harbinger of warmer days to come. I can't wait. Praise God for the coming spring. 

Two Bills to Pay

Tuesday morning was one of those mornings that had Tyler and me both wishing out loud that the weather would warm up. "If we can just lose these 20s," I moaned. 

"Forties would be great," Tyler responded. Vicki was not there. She had "overslept." Yeah, right.

Well, we did our workout, pulling and pulling and pulling. Six sets (I think) on the chest-supported row machine. We also did lat pull downs, curls for the girls, the Swim Pull, lateral raises, and we finished with a one/two combo of the swim cable plus the Skierg. I know, I have been writing Ski Erg. Skierg is the new, and I think correct, designation. Or maybe it's Ski erg. Whatever.

The sky was light, birds were out, and Pee Wee was happy when Tyler left and I went inside for breakfast. It feels really good to have something solid finished early in the morning.

I was supposed to swim with John. He called, however, and cancelled because he had two bills to pay. This is what happens when you can't manage time. John cannot manage time. Let me take that back. John can manage time. He can managed to make anything take a long time. And when he does get to the pool, it is usually eight to ten minutes before he is in the water. No joke, I time him. It takes Tyler almost thirty seconds.

So I swam with Tyler. That was after I ran 4.03 miles on an afternoon that felt amazingly spring like despite the brutally cold predawn morning. In the pool, we did

2,100

15 X 50 @ 1:16

200 easy

total: 3,050

I don't have any times because I left my watch at home. Tyler had a watch which got us through the 2,100. 

All in all, it was a pretty solid day. The swim practice was a good one, the kind we need to improve our pool times. We are focused like that. 

Praise God.